Letting Go of Work
There’s a tree in my neighbor’s yard that I sometimes watch across the backyard fence. I’m no expert, but I think it’s a linden. Although winter has already stripped the leaves off most trees in our neighborhood, the linden tree is stubborn. I see a smattering of brown near the bottom of the trunk, the first prizes the cold has pried off. But hundreds of orange hearts still cling to the branches, making a rare spot of color in the snow-strewn landscape.
As I look at those leaves, it strikes me that they’re having a hard time letting go. They just don’t want to give up on fall. Winter is here, but they’re not ready for it.
We’re not so unlike those leaves. When it comes to our work, we can hold onto it tightly, even when the time has come to set it aside. It’s hard to let go.
